There was a bit of a scare here in the U.K. a year or two ago concerning some of the early Britishicon steel helmets which may have contained Asbestos in part of the lining. I don't recall hearing when this material stopped being used or if it was used on any of the WW2 helmet linings. It may have only related to the WW1 helmets. The story cropped up at the same time as the scare concerning possible Asbestos in some of the older gas mask filters.